China's Coast Guard said Thursday that it allowed a Philippine civil vessel to deliver supplies to a warship illegally grounded at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

In a press release, the coast guard said that it had questioned and watched the Philippine vessel during its entire supply mission. It urged the Philippines to cooperate with China in managing the maritime situation.

The Philippine Embassy in Beijing didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment.

China and the Philippines are engaged in a heated exchange of barbs over the past few months regarding manoeuvres on Second Thomas Shoal. This atoll is located within Manila's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends to 200 nautical miles.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea despite claims from Brunei and Indonesia.

China rejects a 2016 decision of an arbitral tribunal that Beijing's claims based on historical maps are not backed by international law. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom Editing Bernadettebaum

(source: Reuters)